After 11 seasons at CSU Bakersfield, Dave Barber retired as the head men's and women's golf coach upon the conclusion of the 2012-13 season. Barber will continue on in the program in 2013, assisting director of golf Greg Osbourne.
Barber's final season as head men's coach saw Bakersfield win its first tournament at the Division I level as the Roadrunners defeated Seattle in the finals of the 2013 Cal Poly Match Play Challenge at Cypress Ridge Golf Course. The tournament win was not only the first Division I team title for the 'Runners in the history of the program, but also the first tournament victory at any level since 2007 when the squad won the CSUB Spring Invitational II.
In 2010, Barber coached the Roadrunner's men's team to four top-five team finishes including taking third at the Firestone Grill Cal Poly Invitational, fourth at the Cal Poly Lampkin Grip Match Play and tying for fifth at the CSUB Invitational and the Cal State Northridge Bill Cullum Invitational.
Barber began his tenure with the Roadrunners in 2001 when he became the third coach in the modern era of the program. In his first five seasons with the program he led the Roadrunners to five California Collegiate Athletic Association championships (the first in school history) and to four of top six finishes at the NCAA Division II National finals.
A former PGA touring pro and the longtime pro at Bakersfield Country Club, Barber had never coached at the college level before taking the reins at CSUB. He was a three-year letterwinner at UC Santa Barbara, earning All-America honors as a senior in 1968. He turned professional in 1969 and played one season on the Asian Tour before returning home to become the assistant pro at Bakersfield Country Club.
He made his big splash on the professional scene when he broke onto the PGA Tour in 1972. He remained a PGA touring pro until 1976 before he returned to Bakersfield CC in 1977. He served a head pro at BCC from 1980 until his retirement in 1996.
Barber has been a teaching professional for more than 30 years.
